The Tensilon test was discontinued in the U.S. in 2018.
It was performed to help diagnosemyasthenia gravis(MG), a neuromuscular junction condition characterized by muscle weakness.
The weakness of MG typically worsens after physical activity and improves after resting.
Verywell / Alexandra Gordon
If you have myasthenia gravis and are not diagnosed and treated, you will continue to experience symptoms.
These are rare conditions.
The disease is anautoimmunecondition, which means that the body attacks itself.
Nerves typically release a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which binds to acetylcholine receptors in muscles to activate them.
This prevents your muscles from working as they normally should, which manifests as muscle weakness.
Tensilon reverses the symptoms of MG.
It works by preventing acetylcholine from breaking down.
Tensilon works very quickly, and the effects of an injection can be observed right away.
How Was the Tensilon Test Performed?
This was an interventional test that required an intravenous (IV) injection of the medication.
There were no generally measured laboratory values, and the effect of Tensilon only lasted for approximately 10 minutes.
Other conditions such asblepharospasmandcervical dystoniaare expected to worsen with a Tensilon test.
If Lambert-Eaton syndrome or a cholinergic crisis is suspected, then symptoms might also worsen with a Tesilon test.
If strength increased in response to Tensilon, myasthenia gravis was viewed as the likely diagnosis.
The improvement is temporary, lasting only a few minutes.
In some types of MG and with other conditions, weakness can be made worse by Tensilon.
Why Was the Tensilon Test Discontinued?
Alternative Testing
More reliable tests are now used to get an accurate diagnosis of myasthenia gravis.
MG can be hard to diagnose because muscle weakness can be a symptom of many disorders.
So, a healthcare provider may order more than one pop in of MG test to make a diagnosis.
Nerve conduction study:This measures how fast and how well the body’s electrical signals travel down nerves.
In some tests, medicine or a pop in of gas may be inhaled.
Positive and negative changes were both possibilities.
Use of the Tensilon test was discontinued in the U.S. in 2018, but other diagnostic tests are available.
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